The dimsum place that time forgot
We saw the PETA production of Bona last Sunday with Manny and Ren. We were told to come early—the only tickets left for the sold-out shows were balcony, free seating—so we decided to grab a bite nearby.
As we were unfamiliar with the dining options in the neighborhood, we landed at a Chinese restaurant chain that has fallen on hard times (Not Ma Mon Luk, which we still love). The waiter turned on the airconditioning as we took our seats, which should’ve been our cue to flee, but fond childhood memories of their dimsum kept us in our seats. Our beloved tausa pau (black bean) siopao had vanished from the menu so we ordered asado pao and siomai.
While we waited for our orders a cockroach crawled onto our ankle—another cue to flee, which we also ignored. (It was raining, we didn’t want to be late for the play.) We killed the cockroach before our friends could scream. Have we mentioned that we are the ipis slayer? We believe in squishing them with extreme prejudice. (The other PETA is welcome to write us on behalf of cockroach rights.) Ren asked the waiter very politely to take away the liquefied corpse. The waiter did this without comment.
The asado pao was steamed into goo, the hot sour soup Manny ordered was sweet, and Ren’s fish fillet with bean curd must’ve been microwaved on high because it was hot enough to vaporize your tongue. The portions were generous but given the food quality was this a positive? One got the distinct impression that a gang had broken into the restaurant then decided to keep it running.
After the play, which we enjoyed very much (All resemblance to Lino Brocka’s Bona are almost purely coincidental; this is not a dramatization but a reworking. It’s a comedy, and the acting makes it work. Review later. Watch it!), we walked to the parking lot at the nearby church and noted that there was a bath house and gay bar across the street, very convenient for the guilt-ridden.
Our default late night restaurant is Old Swiss Inn (at Somerset beside the Pen), where the chocolate fondue banished the memory of the gooey siopao, sweet soup and friendly insects. This midnight snack was spiced up by the conversation from another table, which began with the words “Anal stimulation is a very controversial topic” and moved on to erectile function and the urethra. We don’t think it was a convention of urologists, but the vocabulary was very refined.
When we got home we got a message from a friend who suddenly remembered that near the PETA theatre is Teresita’s of San Fernando, where “the kare-kare and halo-halo are to die for, best Php200 I’ve ever spent on food”. Argh.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
September 19th, 2012 at 12:30
Hmmm, is it the House of “Nine-Dragon”? :P
I’ve always loved their beef mami. But then this was in the noughties(at their Greater Lagro branch), in the wee hours after a night of drinking. I guess everything just tastes great after a bender.
:)
September 19th, 2012 at 13:40
Yes it is! How they could have fallen so far we have no idea.
September 19th, 2012 at 14:30
They couldn’t even get their hot sauce right anymore..
September 19th, 2012 at 16:38
Meron ring Teresita’s sa Morato at masarap nga ang kare-kare at halo-halo.
September 19th, 2012 at 18:01
That’s probably the one he meant. Ang kaibigan natin ay geographically-challenged.
September 20th, 2012 at 03:49
Regarding KH, which I think is the dimsuman in question, I believe the problem nowadays is consistency between stores. Not sure if some are franchised already?
Some branches still have pretty good siomai and my favorite Jumbo Pao and maintain general cleanliness. Other branches are icky icky icky indeed. I’ve encountered both types of branches recently (I suspect the one you went to is the same one I went to on the icky side).
If these are franchises run by different owners, then the problem may be a lack of standardized quality control by the “main owner.”
One thing’s consistent, though: as isaak pointed out regarding the hot sauce, they can’t get it right any more no matter what branch I’ve visited lately.
September 20th, 2012 at 10:39
Which branches are okay? Don’t go to the one near St Luke’s QC! Ick ick ick ick ick.
Our folks used to bribe us with tausa pao and egg tarts (pre-Lord Stow’s) from the take-out counter of their West Avenue branch.
September 21st, 2012 at 02:58
Oh, yeah, I was right… the St. Luke’s one: ick indeed!
The West Avenue branch is still okay, at least the last time I went there, which was probably around June after we came from a wake.
Aside from the classic take-out counter, they have a mini-resto bar that’s 24 hours open. I think they even serve beer and such; most of the patrons seem to be the post-gimik crowd looking for a quick foodie fix.
I haven’t really tried anything else recently other than siomai, siopao, and the lechon macau on rice though, so I’m not sure if their soup and fish fillet in that branch are vile. The asado pao there wasn’t goo, in any case, from what I saw in my friend’s hand (and he seemed to love it still).
Thirty plus years later, and I’ve never even tasted their tausa pao and egg tarts. When it comes to KH, I’ve always just stuck to the siomai and jumbo pao in general. :)
I did like their “formal resto” there in West way back also. The sit-down, lauriat kind of place. Their shrimp on toast was awesome. I have no idea if it’s still open.